Gatcomb receives Emerging Leader Award

Each year, during National PA Week, Brigham Health hosts a special celebration and awards ceremony honoring physician assistants from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. At this year’s event, BWFH’s Tricie Gatcomb, PA-C, received the inaugural Emerging Leader Award.

The Emerging Leader Award is given to a PA with five years or less of experience in the field. The recipient must demonstrate excellence in patient care, participation in institutional or regional leadership activities, collaboration with their team, commitment to continued professional development and service as an advocate for the PA profession.

Gatcomb has worked in the Emergency Department at BWFH for five years and on the inpatient units for two years. During her tenure at the hospital, she has demonstrated all of the criteria for the Emerging Leader Award. “Her list of accomplishments over the past five years is long and is a testimony to her commitment to her patients, her practice and our hospitals,” says BWFH’s Chief Advanced Practice Provider Johanna Baldassari, MSN, RN, CNP, “More importantly, it’s her skill as a quiet, compassionate leader—one whose compass is deeply rooted in social justice and equality—that sets her apart.”

Gatcomb learned she would be receiving the Emerging Leader Award during a particularly tough day on the job. “I was feeling challenged by my day-to-day work,” she says. “To learn the news of this incredible honor was very uplifting.”

Along with her notification, Gatcomb had the opportunity to read letters written by her colleagues in support of her nomination. “The way in which they see me is not how I see myself. It’s how I strive to see myself. To read their words was really affirming,” she says. “The things I do at work don’t seem impressive to me. But when you hear your coworkers list your accomplishments, it does sound like a lot. That makes me feel really good about the work I do.”

At the awards ceremony, Gatcomb was surrounded by supportive colleagues and BWFH’s Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of Medical Affairs Peggy Duggan, MD. “Dr. Duggan presented me with my award. You could tell how proud she was, and that was a great honor,” says Gatcomb.